This chapter somehow ended up being really long...I hope no one minds.
Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed! I love hearing from you!
The morning after her dinner with Yang, Blake felt very much…unlike her usual self. She was distracted, unfocused, easily sidetracked…and finding it extremely difficult to plan out her day without her thoughts drifting back to the bubbly blonde she had spent the prior evening with.
Blake had expected the actress to be nice and amiable, but…maybe not the sharpest tool in the shed. She had been more than pleasantly surprised to have her expectations completely blown out of the water.
Yang had proven herself to be incredibly smart, funny, charming, and genuine. The conversations they had had were thought-provoking and extremely articulate. It had only taken Blake a few minutes to decide that she was thoroughly going to enjoy their evening together.
She had also quickly learned that Yang had an uncanny ability to make an absolute fool of herself. She couldn't even begin to count the number of times Yang had stuck her foot in her mouth last night, but the blonde had never seemed to be discouraged by it. In fact, it almost seemed like the more Blake laughed at her missteps, the more they occurred.
She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so much in one evening and seriously doubted that she had ever laughed that much in her life.
The night had flown by. And she couldn't begin to express how delighted she was that Yang had asked her out again as they stood outside her apartment building. She had hesitated before going inside solely for that reason, but she couldn't find the courage herself to ask the blonde out for a second date.
Now, she just needed to get through the morning, but she was already counting down the hours and minutes until their paths would cross again.
Blake was waiting impatiently in her apartment long before Yang was supposed to arrive to pick her up. She fidgeted with her clothing – she had already changed her outfit three times trying to find the perfect clothes to wear and she refused to change again.
Yang hadn't told her where they would be going, only that they would be outside so to dress for whatever the weather was like. Since it was sunny and warm, but not too hot, Blake had finally settled upon some jeans and a nice purple V-neck. She could only hope that this would be appropriate for wherever they were going, and that Yang wouldn't completely outdress her.
At least they were lucky that the weather had turned out to be beautiful.
The last few minutes ticked by excruciatingly slowly, while Blake literally sat in her kitchen and watched the clock on the microwave click forward one more minute to 2:00 p.m. on the dot.
The buzzer rang and Blake jumped in shock. Her heart now racing, she walked quickly to the front door and tapped the call button.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Miss Belladonna. There's a Yang Xiao Long here to see you."
Blake smiled - she was right on time.
"Ok, tell her I'll be right down. Thank you, Charlie."
Releasing the button, Blake rushed back to the kitchen to grab her wallet, taking several seconds to make sure she had everything she would need. Satisfied, she walked back to the entryway, pausing for a second to check her reflection one last time.
She could feel nerves and excitement building as she stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby.
Yang Xiao Long, huh. World famous actress and…her date.
The ride down was far too short. Before she knew it, the soft 'ding' sounded as the elevator doors slid open, revealing the lobby beyond.
Yang, who had been chatting amicably with the lobby security guard (a friendly man named Charlie), immediately stopped talking as she turned in Blake's direction. The instant Blake stepped out of the elevator, the blonde's face lit up with a huge smile.
And that was all it took for the nerves in Blake's stomach to morph into full grown butterflies, fluttering around in her rib cage as if searching for any means of an exit.
There was something about Yang's smile that was utterly disarming. Blake always seemed to instinctually smile in return, as if compelled to respond to the girl's radiance from some desire deep within her - some secret part of her that was telling her what to do, how to act. It was frightening, alarming, but exhilarating and intoxicating all at the same time.
"Hello," Yang greeted her cheerfully while Blake's feet guided her towards the actress as if she were a moth and Yang the flame.
Her voice was like honey, soothing Blake's mind and soul.
"Hello," she replied calmly as she came to a stop directly in front of the girl. Thankfully, her voice didn't betray any of the tumultuous emotions she was feeling inside.
"You look…beautiful," Yang remarked, causing Blake to blush and mumble a quiet "thank you" in return. She hadn't expected to be receiving compliments so soon, especially when Yang looked easily ten times more beautiful than she did in her jeans and yellow fitted shirt.
"Ready to go?"
When Blake nodded, Yang smiled again and held out an elbow for Blake to hold onto, which she did even though she could feel her blush increasing in magnitude. The doorman held the door open for both of them to step outside into the early afternoon sun.
Maybe she should have been surprised by the car waiting outside the front doors, but, sadly, she really was not.
A sleek, black and yellow sports car was parked right in front of the doors, gullwing doors open and awaiting the return of its owner. The vehicle probably cost more than most homes and was as flashy and noticeable as Yang herself. Blake had to remind herself that it was pretty typical of a movie star to drive around in such an extravagant car, not matter how impractical it was.
"Nice car, huh?"
Blake couldn't help giving a slight roll of her eyes.
"Yeah, it is…"
Anything you spent that much money on had better be nice, she wanted to say - but kept her mouth shut, not wanting to insult her date. She sincerely hoped that Yang didn't think that a gaudy car would impress her though. If anything, it did the exact opposite.
With a gentle tug on her elbow Yang prodded them forward, but towards the car parked behind the sports car.
Blake felt her face catch fire in silent embarrassment when Yang unlocked the silver sedan and courteously opened the passenger door for her. She mumbled her thanks as she got in, resisting the urge to hide her face in her hands in humiliation.
She felt horribly guilty for having assumed that Yang had tried to impress her with an extravagant car when the actress actually drove something quite…practical. Sure, the sedan was luxurious and probably more expensive than most vehicles people could easily afford, but it was not loud or showy at all.
This girl truly was full of surprises. Pleasant ones, at that.
Yang jogged around the car and hopped into the driver's seat, starting the engine and putting the car into drive in one fluid motion.
"Do you know who owns it?" Yang asked while carefully navigating around the sports car.
Blake still couldn't bring herself to form words, merely shaking her head 'no' in response. She didn't know many of the neighbors in her building, so it wasn't really a surprise that she didn't know whose car it was. Although it was interesting that she hadn't seen it parked here before.
"I love the colors," Yang commented as she turned the car onto the street. "Reminds me of a bumblebee."
Blake smiled at the comparison.
"So…are you going to tell me where we're going now?" Blake asked curiously while watching buildings pass by the window.
"That depends…do you want me to ruin the surprise?" Yang glanced at her quickly with that quirky grin on her face.
Blake thought for a few seconds before answering.
"No, I guess not. I really enjoy surprises."
Yang laughed, re-energizing the butterflies in Blake's chest at the whimsical sound.
"Good! Because I love to surprise people. Don't worry, we'll be there in 15-20 minutes."
As they drove through the streets of Vale, Yang asked Blake how her day had been so far. While it hadn't felt like she had done anything that interesting, Yang hung onto every word she said, asking questions, making comments…Blake quickly realized that Yang wasn't just trying to make small talk on their drive - she was actually interested and listening to everything Blake had to say. She soaked in every word like a drop of water hitting desert sand, instantly craving more.
Blake had never been around someone so…attentive. And she couldn't say that she wasn't enjoying it immensely.
Twenty minutes later, Blake finally noticed a street sign that gave her a pretty good idea as to where they were headed. But before saying anything (she didn't want to be wrong), she waited until Yang actually made the turn into the parking lot.
"The zoo?" Blake finally asked while Yang rolled down her window to pay for parking.
"Yup!" the blonde replied happily after receiving their ticket from the speechless clerk manning the booth.
"I…uh…hope this is ok with you?"
The sudden lack of confidence caught Blake off guard, causing her to blink in confusion while Yang found a parking spot and put the car in park.
"I haven't been to the zoo in forever," she responded with a smile, hoping to remove every hint of worry that had crept into Yang's expression. The zoo really did sound like a wonderful idea to her, too.
If it was possible, Blake's smile grew even bigger when Yang beamed back at her - confidence fully restored.
"Alrighty then, let's go!"
As soon as they began walking towards the front entrance of the Vale Zoo, Blake felt her senses begin tingling. She tried to ignore it for a few seconds until she was able to pinpoint where the feeling was coming from.
You know that feeling you get when you sense someone looking at you? Well, it was that, only amplified by…every single person in the vicinity.
Yang drew every single eyeball in her direction, which, in turn, drew them in Blake's direction. It was as if Yang was the world's most powerful magnet, unintentionally pulling everyone's attention towards her.
Blake felt like she was shrinking under the intense attention focused her way. She could see people whispering excitedly out of the corner of her eye and pointing towards them. She could only imagine that they were wondering who the person was that was hanging out with the ever so popular Yang Xiao Long.
Blake was used to receiving some attention like this, but only in certain arenas such as conventions or book signings where her fans would seek her out. When she was away from those events, hardly anyone ever recognized her. It wasn't as if her picture was plastered all over the world like Yang's was - only her biggest fans were likely to recognize her in public.
However, The Dust Chronicles was easily the most popular film series of the past decade - and Yang was the lead. Almost everyone in Vytal had seen the movie at least once, and those who hadn't couldn't have missed the trailers or advertisements.
Her eyes fell to the ground in an effort to block out what was happening around her.
Why hadn't she expected something like this to happen?
They passed through the gates quickly since Yang had purchased their tickets in advance. Blake spared a second to be completely impressed by Yang's preparation for today. The blonde gave off a 'fly by the seat of my pants' impression, but that actually seemed to be far from the truth.
Yang stepped off to the side once inside the front gates, staring down at the paper map that had been handed to her. Blake fidgeted while the blonde intently mapped out their route.
Inside the zoo, it seemed that the stares were even worse. Every person walking in or out noticed them standing there and stopped to gawk for a second or two.
"Blake?"
Blake jumped when she heard her name, turning to find lilac eyes filled with concern trained on her.
"Sorry…what did you say?" she asked, realizing that she must have missed something while she was busy being lost in her thoughts.
"I asked if you wanted to go see the penguins first…"
Blake shifted slightly when she noticed a teenaged girl pointing excitedly towards them.
"But hey…" Yang reached out and touched Blake's arm gently, the contact sending an electric current through her veins that brought her full attention back to the girl.
"Are you ok?"
Blake attempted a small smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
She immediately felt guilty for telling a lie to someone who was so sincerely concerned about her. That was not something she ever wanted to do again.
Truthfully, she was slightly uncomfortable with all the attention directed her way, but she didn't want to make Yang feel badly. It was something the actress had very little control over, after all.
Yang furrowed her brow as she bit her lip, looking around them. Blake couldn't help thinking that the expression was particularly appealing on the girl, before Yang's face fell into a complete frown.
"I'm really sorry, Blake…" Yang said, regret flowing along with her words as she turned back, sorrow filling her eyes.
"I…hardly notice people staring at me anymore…but I should have thought about how it would make you feel…"
Blake felt something sharp pull at her heart when she saw Yang's distress on full display in front of her. She didn't want Yang to feel responsible for this in any way. And she didn't want Yang to think that this negatively affected how Blake thought of her. Blake had known that Yang was a celebrity the second the blonde had come crashing into that restroom, after all.
"No, it's really ok," she began, trying in vain to make Yang feel better, but Yang shook her head.
"No, you're uncomfortable. We can totally go somewhere else - that's completely fine with me. In fact, I can probably call Pyrrha and see if we can…"
"Yang," Blake cut the girl off before she spun off in search of alternative ideas. "We're already here and I would really love to see some cute animals today." She ended with a smile, a true smile.
She could get used to being uncomfortable…it might just take a little time. It would be like wearing an itchy sweater. At first, all you can think about is how itchy it is, but the longer you wear it, the more that feeling begins to fade away. Eventually, it becomes just a sweater.
And this was a much, much better option than seeing that expression on Yang's face ever again.
Thankfully, Yang's concern ebbed slightly at her words.
"Are you sure?" she asked, giving Blake yet another opportunity to back out.
"I'm positive."
Yang smiled, clapping her hands together in excitement before wrapping Blake in a quick hug, backing away quickly with a blush now dusting both of their faces.
Her decision was already completely worth it.
"Ok," Yang began again after giving a quick cough. "Just try to ignore them the best you can. Or, you can do what I do and think about how you're giving them happiness, excitement, something to talk about…simply by walking around! It's cool to think that you can have that effect on people who you might never even talk to or see again."
Blake couldn't help feeling warmed by Yang's view of her fans. It was clear from the way Yang spoke that she enjoyed being able to add any amount of happiness to someone else's day. It was so selfless and kind of the girl to think that way.
"So…penguins?" Yang asked again, hopefully, as she pointed in the direction where the penguins would be found.
Blake grinned and nodded her head.
"Penguins."
The two of them turned and began strolling down the path together, enjoying the shade of the large olive trees lining the route. Blake could still feel the eyes on them, but found it easier to ignore the other people if she focused more of her own attention on her date. Not that that was particularly difficult to do, since Yang drew Blake's eyes just as much as her fans, if not more so.
"So, when you said you could call Pyrrha…did you mean Pyrrha Nikos? The model?" Blake finally asked, having picked up the name when it had fallen out of Yang's jumble of words earlier.
Pyrrha wasn't exactly a super common name. Plus, it would make sense that Yang Xiao Long, arguably one of the most beautiful women on the planet, would be friends with another woman who was drop dead gorgeous. Blake couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have both of them in the same room. If she thought the stares were bad now…
Yang chuckled lightly before responding.
"Yeah, Pyrrha Nikos. We're close friends and she has this place…oh look!"
Blake looked in the direction Yang was pointing, seeing fake rocks lining an exhibit with a large pool on one side. Small, black and white creatures were waddling around on the rocks, as a couple of the more active members were swimming around in the crystal clear water. The air smelled distinctly of fish, which wasn't an altogether awful smell, but it was quite overpowering.
She chuckled at Yang's sudden distraction as they walked up to the railing of the exhibit – a thick piece of Plexiglas that came up to their waists. Leaning against the makeshift wall, they watched the small creatures move about their humble home, which was arranged to look like a glacier edged by a clear pool.
Well, Yang watched the penguins. Blake found herself sneaking glances at the girl out of the corner of her eye.
To say that Yang was fascinated by the creatures would have been an understatement - the blonde was positively mesmerized by them. Her eyes refused to blink while she watched the two penguins in the water zipping back and forth beneath them, a goofy grin frozen on her face the entire time.
"I used to want to be a penguin," Yang finally said. She then flushed and turned towards Blake. "Anddd…I just totally said that out loud, didn't I?"
Blake was already laughing at the confession, picturing a tiny Yang penguin, complete with blonde hair.
"Why a penguin?"
Yang turned back towards the water, no doubt in an attempt to hide some of her embarrassment.
"Look at them – they swim so effortlessly. And they look so carefree, like nothing bothers them as long as they're allowed to coast around their pool chasing fish. Plus, you have to admit that they are pretty...cool."
Blake burst out laughing at the play on words.
"But look at those ones walking around," Blake said as she pointed towards the other animals in the exhibit. "They're not exactly moving effortlessly."
They both giggled as one of the penguins flopped onto its stomach and began pushing itself lazily forward by its back feet, illustrating Blake's point perfectly.
"Well, I was like 10 years old at the time," Yang replied, pushing herself away from the glass. "Plus, this girl I liked thought they were cute and I wanted her to think I was cute too."
"Ah, I knew there would be a girl involved," Blake teased, laughing at the blush growing on Yang's cheeks.
"Ready to continue our tour?" Yang sidestepped, gesturing away from the penguins and back to the path.
Blake nodded as she followed Yang, thinking to herself that she doubted there was ever a time when Yang was not exceptionally cute, especially at ten years old.
The two of them spent the next couple of hours walking the footpaths of the zoo, stopping to look at everything imaginable. Blake soon found out that Yang's enthusiasm was not limited to the penguins, but applied to all of the animals that were there. The blonde was able to pick out something about every species that she absolutely adored and would gush over.
The polar bears were so white. The toucans had the most beautiful blue eyes. The porcupines looked so cuddly (Blake steadfastly disagreed). The panthers moved like ninjas. The elephants were so calm. The tigers had gorgeous colors. The gorillas could eat an orange better than any human.
Yang viewed every animal with the wonderment of a small child; Blake couldn't help but to get caught up in some of that excitement, as well.
And she was noticing fewer of the stares they were receiving because she was so caught up in the marvel that was Yang Xiao Long. She was only reminded when someone would approach Yang and ask for a picture or an autograph. Yang always obliged, and then some, usually striking up an effortless conversation about how their day was going or what their favorite animal was.
And she introduced Blake - every single time.
The way in which Yang introduced her made her feel like a rock star. Enthusiasm would spill out of the blonde as she rapidly listed off a nearly complete list of the books Blake had written. It was as if Yang had been waiting for years to introduce Blake to them, relieved to finally be able to let it all gush out at once. And the way that Yang would look at her, eyes full of pride and admiration…unraveled Blake each and every time.
She found that many of the people approaching them had also read or at least heard of her books. Quite a few would ask for her autograph too, or for a picture with both of them.
While Blake might have usually found the nearly constant interruptions to be bothersome, with Yang around they were actually quite fun and pleasant. Yang was always able to make her fans laugh. And Blake could see what Yang meant by making someone's day as she watched giddiness oozing from the people as they waved their goodbyes. The actress was creating an experience for everyone around her - Blake included.
The only noticeable difference in Yang's personality when she was speaking to her fans was that she seemed to think a little longer before speaking, preventing any unfortunate comments from slipping out. But as soon as they would walk away, Yang was back to sticking her foot in her mouth. Blake found herself growing fonder of the unfiltered way in which Yang spoke to her. No matter how ridiculous, mundane, or embarrassing, if Yang thought it, it was going to spill from her lips a second later.
And as Blake watched Yang restrain herself in front of one person after another, she felt more and more…special. It reinforced the idea that Yang was being completely genuine with her. And the real Yang continued to embarrass herself at nearly every exhibit, much to Blake's personal enjoyment.
Of course, Yang seemed to have already found Blake's own weakness and would throw in suggestive comments here and there that would leave Blake red up to her ears while the blonde giggled incessantly.
Their time together was growing even more enjoyable, if that was possible.
Eventually, they decided to take a break, stopping to rest for a few minutes while sitting at a small table under a large blue and white umbrella. Blake was pulling apart the pretzel Yang had bought her, amusedly watching the blonde devour a tray of nachos as if they were the last few scraps of food on earth.
"You know, no one's going to try to take those from you," Blake said with a grin. "And I could get you some more if a bird does manage to swipe them from you."
Yang finished swallowing the chip that had been in her mouth before giving an embarrassed smile.
"I eat really fast when I'm nervous," she confessed honestly, before groaning and shoving her head in her hands when she realized what she had just admitted.
Blake giggled, thankful she wasn't the only one with some lingering nerves.
"I noticed by the way you demolished the lasagna last night. You probably could have eaten an entire pan of it before I finished my food," she teased lightly, drawing a laugh from the still red-faced girl.
"Yes, I totally could have!" she remarked semi-proudly as she gingerly picked up another chip and slowly, agonizingly slowly, placed it in her mouth.
Blake shook her head when Yang giggled.
"Well at that rate, the zoo will close before you finish."
"Then we could spent the night here together! Just you...me...and a handful of penguins," Yang said, wiggling her eyebrows before glancing at her watch for the time.
"Shoot! We have to get going!" she exclaimed, shoving another chip in her mouth as she shot up from the table, leaving Blake frozen there in surprise.
"What could we be late for? I didn't realize there were any time tables at the zoo," she remarked curiously, standing to follow Yang's lead regardless.
"It's a surpriseeee," Yang called in a sing-song voice as she led them away from the tables. "But we don't want to be late, so let's go!" As she said this, she grabbed ahold of one of Blake's hands and began dragging the dumbstruck girl through the winding pathways towards their destination.
Several minutes later, they were standing in front of a locked gate marked "employees only." There were no exhibits nearby, making it a curious place that Yang had brought her to so urgently. Blake's heart was still racing even though Yang had dropped her hand some time ago. Keeping her hand as still as possible, she imagined that she could still feel the warmth of Yang's fingers lingering there.
"So…this is…a locked door…" she commented slowly, wondering what it could be that Yang had in store for them at this location.
"Wait for it…" Yang said, checking her watch again. "She should be here any minute now."
"She?" Blake asked just as she heard the sound of jingling keys and boots headed quickly towards them.
"Sorry, I'm late!"
The two of them turned towards the origin of the voice, finding a girl around their age rushing their way, dressed in a light blue polo t-shirt and khaki shorts. As soon as the girl saw them, her eyes turned into saucers.
"Oh…my…god…it is you!" the girl exclaimed as she stopped in front of them, gawking in disbelief.
"I know they told me that I was supposed to meet Yang Xiao Long here, but I thought that they were totally messing with me. Oh my god and I was late! I'm so, so sorry!"
Yang chuckled as she looked towards Blake in amusement.
"It's ok, really. We've only been here for a minute or so," Yang replied nonchalantly.
"Good! Oh, we, yes," the girl said, finally turning to look at Blake.
"Blake," she introduced herself when she had the girl's attention.
"Blake Belladonna," Yang elaborated, causing the girl's eyes to widen once more.
"The author?" she gasped, before sticking out her hand to shake both of their hands.
"I'm sorry, I'm being incredibly rude. My name is Stacy; I'm a zookeeper here and will be taking you for a short behind the scenes experience today."
Blake turned to Yang in surprise while Stacy began fishing through her keys to open the gate in front of them. Yang merely grinned at her before Stacy swung the door open and gestured for them to go through.
Immediately on the other side of the door was a staircase which led down to yet another locked door. They descended the stairs and waited at the bottom while Stacy relocked the top gate and flew down the stairs to open the door to the building in front of them.
Inside the door was a hallway with a concrete floor and various pictures and children's artwork tacked to a corkboard on each wall. They followed Stacy down the hallway, through another door and down yet another staircase before they stepped back outside.
From what Blake could tell, they were now on the outer edge of the zoo. They were in a large open area that was hedged in by fencing that was at least fifteen feet tall.
Stacy grabbed a large plastic bucket filled to the brim with heads of lettuce as she headed to their right, gesturing again for Blake and Yang to follow her. She set the bucket down for a few seconds in order for her to unlock a massive gate and swung it out of their way.
When Blake walked through the gate, she let out a gasp at what she saw standing behind a chain link fence not twenty feet in front of her.
Two giraffes stood there, both pulling mouthfuls of hay from a feeder that was hanging on one side of the fence. As they walked closer, the creatures noticed their presence and looked up, straightening their necks out to full height while looking down towards them. Noticing the bucket in Stacy's hand, the creatures abandoned their hay and stretched their heads over the top of the fence as far as they could reach.
Stopping just six feet from the fence, they were now standing face to face with two giant giraffe heads, both animals sniffing towards the lettuce.
The only thing Blake could think was, wow. Just, wow.
"These are our two female giraffes, Zoey on the left and Clementine on the right," Stacy began as she sat the bucket down at their feet. "They're three years old, so already fully grown."
"How tall are they?" Yang asked curiously. Blake turned to see that the blonde was just as captivated as she was with the animals towering above them.
"They're nearly 16 feet tall," Stacy answered, pulling two heads of lettuce out of the bucket and handing one to each of them. "Go ahead and pull off some pieces and feed it to them!" Stacy took the first piece of lettuce and held it out towards Clementine, whose tongue rolled out to wrap around the produce and pull it back into her mouth.
Blake and Yang followed Stacy's example, with Blake continuing to feed Clementine while Yang attracted Zoey's attention. Blake held out the first piece of lettuce hesitantly, but smiled when Clementine stretched her neck as far over the fence as possible to reach the lettuce in her hand. The dark grey tongue reached out and wrapped lithely around the leaf of green before tugging it forcefully from her fingers. Clementine huffed in appreciation while she lazily chewed on the lettuce tucked in her cheek, a gust of warm air washing over Blake. Before she had even finished chewing the first piece, Clementine was reaching out again, asking for more.
Hearing Yang giggle, Blake glanced to her left just as Yang looked towards her, exhilaration lighting up her lilac eyes while Zoey happily chewed her lettuce. When Yang was looking away, Zoey stuck her tongue back out as far as it could reach, nearly brushing Yang's cheek. Blake nodded towards the giraffe, causing Yang to turn and yelp when she almost got a mouthful of giraffe slobber.
Blake and Stacy laughed as Yang took a tiny step backwards and placed another leaf of lettuce within Zoey's reach and Blake turned back to Clementine.
"Yeah…you have to be careful. They like to lick faces," Stacy commented, happily watching her charges interact with her guests.
The creatures were giant. The length of Clementine's head alone was probably half of Blake's own height. Her dark brown eyes were shiny like polished marble, peering out from beneath extraordinarily long lashes. Her head swung with a smoothness that seemed impossible for an animal of this size, but Blake had little doubt that the force behind the simple movement was enough to knock her right off of her feet.
A thumping noise suddenly caught everyone's attention, with Zoey and Clementine raising their heads and looking back over their shoulders. A third giraffe, even bigger than the two girls, came into view and stepped lazily up to the fence, each step of a hoof causing an audible thump against the concrete ground. Zoey and Clementine shuffled to the side slightly when the new giraffe walked in between them, making the tallest animals Blake had ever seen suddenly look noticeably smaller. Sticking its head over the fence, Blake and Yang took several steps backwards as the creature's head reached several feet further than the other two.
"And this is Daniel," Stacy said, introducing the third creature in front of them. "He's our only male giraffe, standing over 19 feet tall."
"Woah," Yang said before letting out a low whistle of appreciation. Blake could only nod her head in agreement as they viewed the massive creatures in front of them. She found herself suddenly gaining an understanding of just how small and insignificant she was compared to other creatures inhabiting this planet with her.
Stacy reached into the bucket, pulled out another head of lettuce and began feeding Daniel.
"Are they supposed to eat this much lettuce?" Blake asked.
"They're such big creatures, they could eat lettuce for the entire day and still lose weight," Stacy answered.
Yang laughed. "Jeez, I wish I could do that!"
"You'd want to eat lettuce all day?" Blake asked with a smirk, knowing that's not what the blonde was referring to, but wanting to provoke her a little bit.
"Oh, no!" Yang took the bait, shaking her head vigorously. "Not with lettuce! Maybe like…burritos or hamburgers or something…"
Blake and Stacy both chuckled at the girl's choice of foods, both of which were highly unconducive to the shape Yang was currently in.
"Yeah, that would be nice. You'd never have to go to the gym then!" Stacy agreed, causing Yang to shoot her a smile.
"Exactly! It would also be awesome to have a tongue like the…irs…" Yang trailed off, biting her lip but not before letting the entire sentence slip out.
Blake flushed bright red as she guessed what Yang might be hinting at.
"Why?" Stacy asked innocently, causing both Blake and Yang to turn even redder. Blake stared forward at Clementine, trying to avoid making eye contact with either girl. Yang was on her own with this one; there was nothing that Blake could do to help her.
"Uh…well…I…uh…" Yang coughed as she struggled to think of a good, non-sexual reason to explain her comment.
Stacy caught on before Yang came up with anything though, clearing her throat as she picked up the now empty bucket at their feet.
"Uh…so now that we're out of lettuce, let's take a picture!" she said as she placed the empty bucket off to the side. "You two can stand right there, but turn around and face me."
Blake and Yang did as instructed, with Blake grinning when she saw how red Yang still was. Stacy pulled a camera out of a bag that Blake had failed to notice before, since it was tucked into the small doorway nearby.
While the zookeeper fiddled with the device, Yang took a step closer to Blake so that they were now standing shoulder to shoulder. In one fluid motion, Blake felt the weight of Yang's arm come down around her shoulders, tugging her an inch closer to the blonde.
"Smooth," Blake whispered wryly, though she made no attempt to move away from the girl.
"I can be," Yang replied, causing Blake to let out a small snort of laughter.
"Yeah, when you're not saying how badly you want a giraffe's tongue," she retorted as they focused their attention forwards when Stacy held the camera in front of her eye.
"Ok, ready?" the girl called while she lined up the viewfinder. "Say cheese!"
Blake and Yang smiled as the camera clicked and Stacy turned her attention to the screen to see how it turned out. "Shoot, Daniel looked away," she mumbled softly, whistling to try to gain the giraffes' attention.
"You know you love it though," Yang boasted quietly while they waited, continuing where their conversation had left off.
Blake didn't respond as Stacy signaled that she was going to take another one.
Maybe she did love it.
Blake's smile widened when an idea sprang into her mind. As soon as Stacy raised the camera up to eye level, Blake slipped one arm around Yang's waist, pulling the girl even closer to her side.
"Say cheese!"
"Ch-cheese!" Yang spit out, making Blake nearly burst out laughing.
Stacy smiled when she looked at the camera before walking over to them. Blake dropped her arm from Yang's waist when she felt the blonde's arm disappear from her shoulders. Yang gave her a sheepish smile as Stacy held the camera out towards them.
"It's really good!"
They both leaned in to look at the small screen on the back of the camera.
The picture had turned out extremely well. The three giraffes were standing, heads held at their full height as they all, miraculously, looked towards the camera. Blake and Yang stood beneath the towering creatures with huge smiles on both of their faces, although Yang looked rather shocked and happy at the same time.
"Why do you look so surprised in this picture, Yang?" Blake teased the girl.
"Because! Someone startled me!" was all she could sputter in response while Blake laughed.
"You two are cute together," Stacy stated, causing both of them to look over in surprise to find her looking at them observantly.
Blake was pretty sure that her face was now warm enough to cook on as she looked away in embarrassment while Yang chuckled.
"She provides all the cute, I just bring us together," Yang commented smoothly, blissfully unaware of the way the compliment sent Blake's heart to the moon and back. The words weren't forced or planned out. They flowed freely as Yang thought of them.
When Blake looked back up at Stacy, the girl gave her a warm smile.
"I'll email the picture to you and you can forward it to Blake?" she directed towards Yang, who nodded her head.
"Yeah, if Blake will ever give me her email address!" she replied with a giggle. Blake realized that the girl actually didn't have her email address yet, only her phone number.
"All you have to do is ask," Blake said as they began following Stacy back the way they had come, taking one last look back towards the giraffes who were walking away now that the good food was gone.
"Really?" Yang asked mischievously. "And what else does asking work for?"
Blake smiled back demurely.
"You'll just have to ask and find out, won't you?"
Yang laughed, accepting Blake's response.
Stacy showed them around the giraffe barn, where the creatures were allowed to sleep at night if they wanted. She also explained to them how the gates worked within the barn to help shift the giraffes in and out one at a time. It sounded incredibly complicated to Blake, who was thankful she wasn't in charge of herding thousand pound beasts.
They had then ascended the same staircase they had come down what felt like only moments before, waiting patiently for Stacy to unlock and relock all of the doors as they passed through them.
"Thank you so much for showing us around," Yang said politely as Stacy pulled at the last lock, ensuring that it was latched properly.
"Oh, you're welcome!" the young girl replied with a big smile for both of them. "It was really an honor to meet with both of you and I hope that you had a really good time meeting our giraffes."
"We really did," Blake answered for the both of them, with Yang nodding in agreement.
"I hope both of you have a great rest of your day," Stacy began as she started to back away from them. "I have to go prepare their evening diets so that they can eat dinner." With a wave, she turned around and set off at a rapid pace down the footpath, the sound of keys jangling floating through the air.
"Well," Blake said as she turned her attention back towards Yang. "That was really, really awesome."
A blinding smile lit up Yang's face at the comment.
"Wasn't it? They're so cool! My new favorite animal, hands down," she said rapidly as she bounced up and down from residual excitement - before her eyes widened as she remembered something.
"Oh shoot! What time is it?"
She scrambled to pull out her phone to check the time, letting out a gasp when she saw the numbers displayed there.
"We have to get you back so you're not late for your dinner!" she proclaimed, holding the phone out for Blake to see.
How was it possible for time to pass so quickly when they were together?
The two of them set off at a brisk walk towards the exit of the zoo. Blake was surprised to find that Yang seemed to know the way out without even consulting the map, which was impressive because she found that she had gotten incredibly turned around while they had been inside.
In a matter of minutes, the front gates were within their sights, right next to the small building that housed the gift shop.
Yang groaned when she saw the displays filled with stuffed animals hanging outside.
"Do you think we have time?" she asked, turning pleading eyes towards Blake - who immediately agreed as her heart threatened to melt in her chest at the adorable sight.
"How about five minutes and we can each pick out something $10 or less for each other?" she suggested.
Yang's eyes sparkled with delight as she raced ahead into the store, shouting "deal!" behind her.
Blake smiled as she followed the girl, eyes rapidly scanning the shelves once she had passed through the doors. She was pretty sure that Yang would like whatever Blake picked out for her, but that didn't mean that she didn't want it to be absolutely perfect. It would be the first 'gift' she'd give the girl, after all.
She smirked when she saw a few teenage girls approach Yang and ask for her autograph. This was the only time all day when she had seen Yang look flustered by the disruption. The blonde was at a serious disadvantage, Blake thought while she browsed the shelves interruption free.
After carefully deciding upon an item, Blake made her purchase at the front counter, making sure that Yang wasn't around to see what she had picked up. She then stepped outside to wait for her date to finish as well. She realized that she had never looked at the time before making this challenge, so didn't actually know if it had been five minutes or not.
However, as Yang came tumbling out of the store a minute later, her face crumpled in defeat when she looked at the time displayed on her phone.
"Six minutes…" she said in disappointment.
"I think I will allow it," Blake replied with an authoritative nod of her head, causing Yang to grin.
"So…do you want to see yours first?" Yang asked shyly as she clutched the light blue plastic bag in her hands.
"How about at the same time?" Blake suggested as she extended her own little blue bag.
They switched and then opened their bags in unison. Yang laughed happily when she pulled out the item Blake had purchased for her, while Blake chuckled when she saw what was in her own bag.
"This is so perfect." Yang said as she pulled on the plush beanie that looked like a penguin's head, complete with an extending beak.
Blake smiled as Yang posed in her new headwear.
She looked really, really cute.
Diverting her eyes from the sight of Yang in her penguin hat, Blake pulled her own gift out of the plastic bag - a nice, velvety headband with two cat ears sticking out of the top.
"How do I look?" she asked, sticking them on her head and trying to give Yang a serious look, but finding the girl to be staring at her a little intently.
"Super adorable!" Yang finally exclaimed, stretching out one hand and giving the ears a little ruffle, sending a blush creeping up Blake's cheeks at the endearing gesture.
"You said the panthers were your favorite and this was the closest thing they had," Yang explained. "Who knew you would look so good in cat ears?"
Blake couldn't help smiling at the sincere, albeit somewhat strange, compliment.
"Come on, I don't want to keep my publisher waiting any longer than absolutely necessary," she said.
They turned to continue their walk out of the zoo, neither moving to remove the silly accessories from their heads.
Now they were really getting stared at, but Blake could care less.
After reaching the car, Yang drove Blake back to her apartment building. The two of them chatted the entire time about the different animals they had seen, laughing over the funny things that had been witnessed (or said, in Yang's case).
It was only when Blake's building came into view did she realize that she was going to have to bid goodbye to the girl once more.
Yang pulled the car into the semi-circle drive, parking right in front this time since the sports car had disappeared. The blonde hopped out of the car again, but Blake had already beaten her to opening her own door so Yang merely escorted her inside the building.
"Thank you for today," Blake said sincerely as they stood directly inside the lobby doors. "I had a lot of fun."
"You're welcome! I had a ton of fun too," Yang replied with a smile.
The air that settled over them next was slightly uncomfortable, as Blake wondered what she should say now. If she didn't have to run off to dinner, she would probably have invited Yang up to her apartment for some coffee or tea. Maybe.
Thankfully, Yang didn't seem to be expecting any such invitation from her, looking slightly nervous as she cleared her own throat.
"So…could I see you again tomorrow?"
Blake's heart immediately lifted at the question. She would love nothing more than to see the girl again tomorrow.
"Yes, but," she continued before Yang got too excited, "I get to choose the activity this time."
Yang nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Deal!"
The blonde wrapped Blake in a quick hug before she backed away with another wink.
"Just text me a time and place and I'll be there."
With that, Yang disappeared out of the lobby doors, leaving Blake rooted to the lobby floor in her wake.
Only the sound of her phone ringing in her pocket brought her out of her trance. Pulling it out, she groaned when she saw her publisher's name on the caller ID. Pressing the answer key, she held the device up to her ear as she hurried towards the elevator.
"Hello? Yes, I'm on my way, sorry. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
Reaching a hand up, she finally pulled off the cat ears, holding them carefully in her hands as she smiled down at them.
She needed to come up with a great idea for tomorrow.